Author Topic: The Library (Read 2084362 times)

ginny · « **Reply #16240 on:** November 25, 2015, 10:08:29 AM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

We look forward to hearing from you, about you and the books you are enjoying (or not).

Let the book talk begin here!

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ginny · « **Reply #16241 on:** November 25, 2015, 10:10:29 AM »

Oh Judy, I'm so sorry. I hope it's not food poisoning. When I saw that my first thought was a typical holiday because of course something always goes wrong, doesn't it? Always.

But getting sick is not fun. Maybe by the weekend you can have a late Thanksgiving? Hopefully they can stay a while and recover.

Rosemary, "Saint Mary of Berry" hahahaha what a hoot! Priceless! I love it!

No we just finished watching the 2013 show with Ruby Tandoh and Kimberly Wilson and Frances Quinn. I have heard something about the potter show. I hope it can come here too.

I am sitting here as we speak looking at my newest acquisition propped proudly in front of the monitor, a prize more treasured than gold, my first ever bag (all 453 grams of it) of Caster Sugar!!

Finally found some in Whole Foods (but did not eat the salad, Judy.

I want to make Millionaire Bars which I have not had in years and I want to do them properly, not this heat the can business.. So I now need a scale with grams on it and I also need some of the other exotic ingredients which seem to be in the recipes I've found and certainly not at Thanksgiving when everything can go wrong.

I do so admire the Baking people who are shown shaking random amounts from a glass jar. How exotic that looks. Recipe calls for 256 grams of flour....(why do we say it "calls?" No recipe has ever "called" to me. hahaha Maybe something like go away, you incompetent). Anyway the voice narrating says 245 grams of flour and they whisk off that pretty checkered cloth to reveal a mason jar of flour and then they begin shaking it into the bowl, no measuring cups, no spoons, no emergency look at the internet....I want to whisk off the checkered cloth and shake the jar out too and get the exact result called for. Hahahaha....I just love that show.

Stephanie, did you miss the Bake Off show on PBS? It was SO good. I think if you had experience in competition YOU would love it. Some of the back episodes are on youtube but BBC appears to be yanking them off as fast as they can. I'd kill to have a DVD set of the entire six seasons.

Joan K, did you really miss the last one? I am so sorry but you are in for a treat, it's Thanksgiving, after all: fix yourself a nice cup of tea and a cookie and enjoy:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365541481/

Rosemary put her finger on it exactly: "I do enjoy my comfort viewing!"

PatH · « **Reply #16242 on:** November 25, 2015, 10:19:38 AM »

Quote from: Steph on November 25, 2015, 08:33:41 AM

Hmm, Do people still use frypans??

I certainly do. My pan is 60 years old and still going strong. I still make fried chicken, and one of my lazy one-pot meals is to take a piece of chicken or meat and some vegetables that harmonize, turn them over in a very small amount of oil in the pan until they start to brown, season with salt, pepper and herbs, cover, and cook over low heat until done.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16243 on:** November 25, 2015, 12:44:07 PM »

Why would people not use frying pans? I've got at least three! I really didn't know they were out of fashion.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16244 on:** November 25, 2015, 12:53:21 PM »

I don't think we do have an autumn festival Steph. We have Guy Fawkes' night on 5th November but there isn't really anything else till Christmas.

Madeleine's school is about to have its annual 2 day 'Advent Preparation' holiday, but that is a purely Steiner thing, I've never come across it at any other school. Steiner take festivals very seriously - they've already done Michaelmas.

Well done on all your baking successes! My mother used to have a book of all the winning recipes in a Pilsbury Dough competition - I wish we still had it, it intrigued me as a child as we had never heard of half of the ingredients. All the women sounded so unlike my own mother, so smart and 'modern' - reminds me now of the girl in Mona Lisa Smile who, having been educated at Wellesley (?), sees the pinnacle of her achievement as acquiring a brand new washer and drier. At the time we had an ancient electric stove, no other electrical gadgets at all apart from a fridge - and that was a recent innovation. We never had a washing machine, let alone a drier, all the time I lived at home, and my mother still refuses to use a food mixer or a Kenwood - I love my Kenwood and can't imagine how she can make cakes without one.

I also loathe the orgy of food and spending that is Christmas; I just cannot bear all these exhortations to over-consumption. I was just this afternoon in the local Poundland shop, where the voice-over was saying 'Christmas isn't Christmas without all their favourite chocolate treats' - I had to stop myself screaming 'Oh yes it is!'

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16245 on:** November 25, 2015, 01:41:40 PM »

Yep, me too on using a fry pan - I have a similar one pan meal Pat - I usually only soften the onions on the stove top and if I am using a raw piece of chicken I will also brown it with the onions than circle it with some large chunks of veggies and cover with a piece of foil to pop in the oven - these days it ends up being more than one meal for me but not quite two so it is perfect left overs for lunch the next day.

Another trick I started and love is when I cook pasta I slice up either a zucchini or summer squash and cook with the pasta, drain and add my tomato sauce.

Have you noticed how lovely the winter squashes are this year - our markets seem to have a bumper crop.

Ginny as to not using a measuring devise - I am not sure of course not having talked to these folks but one way I learned from my grandmother - cannot believe how much older I am than she was when she showed me so many tricks - anyhow, it is how your remember a recipe - if you look, you notice the main ingredients in a recipe have a ratio to each other - often thirds or fourths - a cup of this to a quarter cup of that to a table spoon of whatever - (4 tablespoons to a quarter of a cup) - for instance to raise all purpose flour there is a 1-4-2 ratio - 1 cup of flour, 4 tablespoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons of salt. There are other ratios according to the end product.

Another factor is UK does not using a bleaching agent to whiten flour - the only company in the US that sells unbleached flour is King Arthur and so converting English recipes will be more successful but a bit trickier since a bleached flour rises easier therefore, cakes are less dense. Also, bleached flour accepts butter a bit differently.

Growing up there were no separate measuring utensils - a certain coffee cup worked best and a certain table spoon worked with that coffee cup and lo to the one who dropped and broke the cup most often used for baking. After awhile you can eye ball what is needed and watch what is happening to the liquidity of combined ingredients.

What I think is fascinating is how they can watch the baking that sometimes it is barely a minute more or less and how they can tell right off from the beginning if the mixture is going to rise properly - unless that is all done for the benefit of audience enjoyment, however, they seem too intent to be pandering to an audience.

Ah yes Rosemary - it is difficult to shop this time of year isn't it - Trying to stay simple to the message of Christmas is not easy. Years ago I did a year of retail and found that in order to balance the year most retail stores need a good Christmas season - learned they too are dependent on that success to pay their mortgage etc. Gave me a new appreciation for what sounds like an over marketing campaign. I started to shop like being a kid again and having to choose one piece of candy from a display filled with so many different candies knowing I was going to attempt to justify my choice as we did when we were ages 9 through 13.

Saturday matinée filled with unaccompanied kids. The movie started at 11:30 and we usually stopped for candy next door at the ice cream store where there must have been 30 or more trays of candies displayed. After we made our choice sure enough outside there was the competition, my candy choice is better than yours with all the attributes of the candy voiced loud and passionately. Reminds me of pre-Christmas ads today.

Also I think a lesson not learned to save money - it is less expensive and not nearly as enjoyable to hear over a speaker these inane sales or invites as compared to the old fashioned department store that decorated as a come on so that you just had to visit the store to see the wonders. I am remembering the smaller local stores also made their store into a fairyland - until this big box kind of shopping with their black Friday sale took over - fairyland is no more...

Well if I do not stop here and get something done I will be up all hours -

JoanK · « **Reply #16246 on:** November 25, 2015, 06:03:15 PM »

Thanksgiving " is centered on eating". To me, it's centered on family (of course, I no longer do the dinner , but even when I did). Every year, I look around the table, and am so thankful for those who are there, and (with a small tear), so thankful to have had many Thanksgivings with those who aren't there any more.

Of course, our consumer - mad society doesn't respect this. I see more and more ads on TV that "Black Friday" now starts at 3 PM Thursday. Eat and run -- it's more important to buy junk cheaply than to be with loved ones.

JoanK · « **Reply #16247 on:** November 25, 2015, 06:18:35 PM »

realized after I posted I had missed a whole page of comments. We have already gone on to talking about Christmas.

GINNY: THANK YOU! Perfect timing. By the time I finish watching the baking show and am starving, it will be just time to go to my daughters for an early Thanksgiving (They're driving to in-laws tomorrow, and I'm going to my son's in-laws. Better than eating two dinners in one day, as hubby and I did early in our marriage. With some competition as to which family could stuff us fuller).

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16248 on:** November 27, 2015, 06:13:37 AM »

This will get you into the holiday mood and remind you that next week we start our discussion of the real story of Pinocchio.

here are the children of Arlington at the annual Marionette show

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_QUf4z9k0yY

marjifay · « **Reply #16249 on:** November 27, 2015, 11:17:31 PM »

I would never be able to figure out what amount to use if a recipe called for grams. Cups, yes; grams, nope.

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #16250 on:** November 27, 2015, 11:26:09 PM »

I keep getting an ad on my internet screen asking me to subscribe to Hulu. Is that like Netflix?

Marj

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16251 on:** November 28, 2015, 01:51:14 AM »

Here is a coming attraction to

peek your excitement for December's first discussion starting next Tuesday December 1, The Adventures of Pinocchio

https://vimeo.com/43229716

jane · « **Reply #16252 on:** November 28, 2015, 08:55:02 AM »

Marj...I don't know much about Netflix, but it sounds similar, I guess.

http://www.hulu.com/welcome

LarryHanna · « **Reply #16253 on:** November 28, 2015, 10:49:38 AM »

Marj, Hulu is very much like Netflix or the Amazon Video. I don't know whether they still have some things that are free but there is a monthly fee for the major content.

maryz · « **Reply #16254 on:** November 28, 2015, 10:52:11 AM »

Hulu gives you a lot of extra choices. You get a small box to hook to the TV and a separate clicker. The box/service is less than $100 - one time cost. There are lots of things to watch for free, and some are pay/per/view. Sort of an extended On Demand. I've had one for several years, but really haven't used it much. One daughter has one, and she uses it a lot - just depends on what's available in your local area and your viewing habits.

marjifay · « **Reply #16255 on:** November 28, 2015, 05:57:40 PM »

Yes, Hulu does sound much like Netflix. I notice the ad says "this offer only good for new subscribers. That probably means that once you become a subscriber, the cost will increase. That's what happened to me with Turner Cable. They advertise for new subscribers a cost of less than $90. I'm now paying $140/month altho I now have HBO (which I don't watch).

Marj

Judy Laird · « **Reply #16256 on:** November 28, 2015, 10:04:40 PM »

I have a smart TV and I love it. Also am a prime club member so amazon movies are free.
Love Netflix I hardly watch regular TV anymore.

Steph · « **Reply #16257 on:** November 29, 2015, 11:20:59 AM »

Rosemary,, the fry pan I was discussing is a pan that plugs into the wall. They were mostly square and could be used for all sorts of stir fries, stews, etc, I even did a chicken pot pie with dumplings once time in one. They were incredibly popular in the 60-79's.. They seem to have gone out of style and in my many moves, mine has disappeared.
The Baking contest has gotten into people who make a career or recipes. Many have won an incredible amount of contests..I have not entered in years, but it was fun some time ago.Everyone very friendly, etc.
Baking.. baking is actually chemistry and you can convert as Barbara pointed out to change the size of what you want to make. You must be careful with the sugar etc, since it is a bit tricky to size up successfully.
Just got back from one of my sons.They do both Thanksgiving and Christmas.. Saw the movie Spotlight,, the Boston Globe and the catholic church. It was wonderful.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16258 on:** November 29, 2015, 02:23:17 PM »

Thanks Steph - I had never heard of a plug-in fry pan, though there was a craze for slow cookers here maybe 30 years ago.

Marj - although Nigella Lawson annoys me most of the time, her books have really good conversion charts in them, that show you the equivalent ounces/pounds, grams and cups. Hers are the only books in which I found the ounce equivalent of a 'stick' of butter. I still struggle with grams and meters, as I was brought up with pounds, ounces, inches and feet, but my daughters think only in grams and centimeters.

I asked my daughter if she could think of a UK equivalent of Thanksgiving - she suggested Harvest Festival. I know that's not strictly the same, but I suppose it might have some similarities?

I am just back from London, where we visited Dulwich College Picture Gallery - I can't believe I grew up so near it and never went inside! It is quite small but has some lovely Rembrandts, some Rubens, Van Dycks, etc. Also a Dutch painter called Aelbert Cuyp, of whom the obnoxious Ruskin said 'his skies look like unripe nectarines'!

I also discovered a saint called Rita - never heard of her before, and was amazed to read that, after an unhappy marriage, she tried to join a convent, was rejected, prayed for assistance and was able to 'fly in through the window' - after which the sisters decided they had better accept her after all... Her 'translation' forms the subject of a painting by Poussin. The things you learn...

Rosemary

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16259 on:** November 29, 2015, 04:56:28 PM »

St. Rita another one of the stigmatic's - never understood that from a biological viewpoint.

ginny · « **Reply #16260 on:** November 29, 2015, 06:01:19 PM »

What interesting posts!

Poussin! I love his portrayals of Classical Themes, you can always count on him for an illustration for a Latin class. I like his Et in Arcadia Ego particularly. (Reminds me of Brideshead Revisited, I guess). That is a gallery I have never heard of, thank you Rosemary!

Judy, I wish I had gotten a smart TV, I put one here in the pantry just recently and have wished ever since it was a smart one.

Barbara, I am positive you are right about those with experience just knowing how much to shake out of the jar. I can't imagine, I really can't, having that kind of knowledge. I did try some yeast rolls for Thanksgiving, sounded so good, and as a result I was even able to quote Paul Hollywood from the Bake Off show when they rose up and almost opened the oven door themselves: "Welcome to the world of yeast." hahahaha It MAY not be a world I visit more often. Reminded me of Lucille Ball and her baking efforts, was it bread?

OH yes and then there's the dulce de leche. I found a British recipe for Millionaire Bars in The Guardian (it came up on the search first) and they wanted that ingredient. Never head of it. Looks like French for milk, sweet milk. I said to my husband you don't suppose it's what we call condensed milk (it's in a can they say) and by George it is. And by gum, Eagle Brand makes it. And apparently one can too, by heating the can (? When you- know- what freezes over, I'll heat a can on the stove, that's all I need) OR by heating and constantly stirring Eagle Brand condensed milk.) OR breaking down and buying the stuff which Eagle Brand does make. It's a caramel. Which you then cook again to make less runny.

WE of course don't get it here but Amazon to the rescue, I got the last two cans. Or so they said. THEN it wanted "icing sugar." But I know what that is, it's what WE call confectioner's sugar so I'm good to go next Sunday.

Adventures in Cooking from a Hapless Cook.

Oh and one more non sequitur: tomorrow night on ABC is the American version of the Great British Bake Off, this one with Mary Berry herself. It's called something like Holiday Baking: Cookies (who can't make a cookie?) and I do hope it catches on here in the states.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16261 on:** November 29, 2015, 06:55:36 PM »

Holiday baking from Britain - sounds interesting - I'm thinking an afternoon tea or even a light evening meal with sweets and savories.

Our cold and rainy weather seems to be eternal - and that is what we face again, for the entire coming week - a day in the kitchen could be just the thing...

In the meantime on Tuesday we begin The Adventures of Pinocchio - reading the original he really is naughty and suffers the consequences - please look in - the discussion will be unlocked with focus questions up for Tuesday morning - here is the link...
http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4862.0

Judy Laird · « **Reply #16262 on:** November 29, 2015, 07:32:40 PM »

O.K. the subject of frying pans. My daughter in law brought me what a thought was a frying but its not. Its called nu-wave cooking. She also brought a lot of loose pots and pans and a box still never opened. My family always does things in excess wonder how they got that. Come to find out Randy has one in his horse trailer thus the extra pats and pans. I just finished trying it and I must says its pretty good.
Every body is gone the house clean and quiet I might add.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #16263 on:** November 29, 2015, 07:42:37 PM »

Ginny smart TV is better than sliced bread. I got a 65inch curved 4D something. I don't know what all My guru bought it for me and he installed it and I wrote a check. So far all the things like netflex and amazon and hulu are free.

CallieOK · « **Reply #16264 on:** November 29, 2015, 07:46:09 PM »

I called a plug-in frying pan an electric skillet and made good use of one for many years.

RosemaryKaye: I'm smiling at your "discovery" of Eagle Brand milk. The day before Thanksgiving my granddaughter called to ask if she and her mama could use Eagle Brand condensed milk in the pumpkin pie instead of the "canned milk" the recipe called for? I said, "Only if you want your teeth to hurt!" Thinking of how sweet that would be makes me shudder!

I use it in Christmas candy and used to use it when we made home-made ice cream in a hand turned freezer. http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountain-F64304-X-4-Quart-Hand-Crank/dp/B00002N62F (Of course, ours didn't cost a fraction of this price!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16265 on:** November 29, 2015, 08:21:17 PM »

Holy Hannah the price of the hand turning ice cream maker on Amazon - sheesh - one more thing I rue the day I got rid of... and yes, an electric skillet with the lid that gave you plenty of room to cook all sorts of things - I too used one for years - found it more useful than a crockpot which practically disintegrates a piece of meat where as the skillet allowed all sorts of recipes.

Nothing on PBS tonight - everything is a repeat - fund raising time although they are not interrupting the shows here it is still a different line up of programming - need to watch a movie - it is rainy and cold, perfect for a movie.

nlhome · « **Reply #16266 on:** November 29, 2015, 08:53:05 PM »

When my grandmother died back in the 1990's, I inherited her electric fry pan, and my husband and I used it until it burned out, probably 6 years. (When I was younger, my cousin and I used to make Rice-a-roni in that pan when we stayed over night with Grandma). We then bought another at a rummage sale, and that lasted a long time, but eventually it too "bit the dust." Since then we've bought a couple, but they came with the teflon coating, so they don't last long at all. We used to make everything in the fry pan, from fried fish to pot roast to pork chops to pancakes. Now we usually just use it for French toast or pancakes and bacon, things that won't end up sticking or damaging the coating - the old metal ones without coating were much more useful.

Frybabe · « **Reply #16267 on:** November 30, 2015, 05:31:28 AM »

When I first met George (1985ish), he had an electric fry-pan, a crock pot, and his microwave. Those are what he used exclusively. He had the range/oven disconnected. Microwaves were not common back then. Before they became relatively inexpensive he had to have the magnitron replaced. He has been using that ancient microwave ever since, never feeling the need to upgrade. What is so surprising about that is that he is such a gadget guy. Why he hasn't replaced the microwave several times over is beyond me.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16268 on:** November 30, 2015, 07:05:06 AM »

Callie - it wasn't I who discovered the condensed milk - my mother used to buy it when I was a child, and it was a key ingredient in what we always called Millionaire's Shortbread (shortbread with a layer of caramel on top, followed by a layer of chocolate - I was only allowed to make it about once a year, owing to the cost of the ingredients).

Ginny - what The Guardian would have meant by dulche du leche is this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Merchant-Gourmet-Dulce-Leche-Caramel/dp/B00MWUFNH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448884734&sr=8-2&keywords=dulce+de+leche

but I imagine you can create the same effect by boiling condensed milk. The actual stuff in a jar can be found in up market supermarkets (think Waitrose or the larger Sainsbury's) here.

Next time you go to London, do go to the Dulwich Picture Gallery. I don't know if you are familiar with Dulwich? The 'village' part, the huge park and the school (Dulwich College) are all extremely smart. There is a wonderful little deli and cafe in the (so-called!) village. The houses round there probably cost billions. East Dulwich (where some of my relations used to live) is quite different and very down market, though like everywhere else within spitting distance of central London, now being gentrified and prices shooting up accordingly. YOu can easily get a bus to Dulwich Picture Gallery, or it is not that far to walk from West Dulwich train station.

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #16269 on:** November 30, 2015, 08:07:28 AM »

Oh Rosemary, thank you so much for a new picture gallery. I have written it all down for the next visit to London.. Van Gogh.. Rembrandt.Van Dyke.. oh wow.. and the neighborhood sounds interesting as well.
Yes, I believe that the frypans were labeled Electric Skillet originally. I can see that everyone used them for everything. I know I did.

jane · « **Reply #16270 on:** November 30, 2015, 09:42:59 AM »

And electric fry pans are still available at JC Penney, WalMart, etc.

WalMart online showed a variety when I googled "electric fry pan". I think they'd be a great thing to own again...esp. for those in an assisted living place where stoves aren't allowed.

Here's one: http://www.walmart.com/ip/42218060?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227030294694&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=61027222631&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=88801145337&veh=sem

Jonathan · « **Reply #16271 on:** November 30, 2015, 02:42:01 PM »

Thanks, Rosemary, for putting me on to St. Rita. Do you know of a 'Life' that would give me more information about her. I'm sorry that you find Ruskin, the culture maven, obnoxious. He inspired Gandhi. Whatever became of Rita's husband?

I'm really into sainthood lately. While searching the attic for my Pinnochio, I found another old chestnut and started reading...and reading. The author was fleeing the Nazis in !940, trying to escape into Spain, but complications forced him into spending several weeks in Lourdes, France, close to the Spanish border. The atmosphere and the endless stories of miracles gave him a mission:

"One day in my great distress I made a vow...I vowed that I would evermore and everywhere in all I wrote magnify the divine mystery and the holiness of man - careless of a period which has turned away with scorn and rage and indifference from these ultimate values of our mortal lot."

Franz Werfel did manage to get to the States and soon saw his Song of Bernadette become a bestseller and a movie. And what a story he had to tell. Church and civic officials were alarmed at first by what Bernadette was claiming to have expreienced, but with time bringing more and more pilgrims to Lourdes to see for themeleves the miracles and the blessings...still several millions a year...only Paris has more hotels....From what I can see, women make more exciting saints...but marriage might be pushing one's luck. A skillet might be more useful.

JoanK · « **Reply #16272 on:** November 30, 2015, 03:41:45 PM »

JONATHAN: "I'm really into sainthood lately."

I don't quite know what to say. A Seniorlearn saint?

Steph · « **Reply #16273 on:** December 01, 2015, 08:43:55 AM »

Oh now thats funny. Sainthood has never interested me as a topic to read about. Not a catholic for one thing and second the little I know about many of the saints seems that publicity is the most important part. Pius as a saint is pushing an envelope for exampls.
Frypans everywhere,
Amazing. After Christmas when I come out of my.. dont go there mood, will look in Walmart.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16274 on:** December 01, 2015, 09:32:38 AM »

Oh my heavens, I have a lot of catching up to do with all these posts since my last time in. I see frying pans, recipes without measuring utensils, cooking shows, Black Friday, Saints and the beginning of Pinocchio to name a few topics. I did a marathon of Christmas shopping Cyber Monday. Got fantastic deals at T.J. Max and also on the internet with free shipping and handling. I love how my grandkids are now old enough that they go on the internet find items they want and then email the the link and all I have to do is place the order. With ages 4, 7, 10, 13 and 20 there are very few toys to buy anymore. My seven yr old has been obsesses with Legos since he was two yrs old and told me to never buy him anything but Legos. The four year old is not much into baby dolls or tea sets, it's more about My Little Pony. The older ones are all into clothes!

JoanK., I am with you.....Thanksgiving and every holiday is all about "family" for me. This is the first time in 10 yrs I had all my three grown children and all the grandkids together at our Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I had a few moments of just sitting back and tearing up. We took many family photos in my living room with the Christmas tree and fireplace in the background, and they came out as good as any professional photography studio could have done! I plan to order one on canvas for each of us to hang in our homes to keep this special time in our hearts and minds.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16275 on:** December 02, 2015, 05:30:44 AM »

Jonathan - so glad to have found a saint you didn't know! Unfortunately all I know about Rita is what I read in the Picture Gallery, but there must be a 'life' somewhere.

I am also interested in saints. Last month I went for the first time on an informal retreat to Alnmouth Friary in Northumberland, which is run by Franciscan brothers. It was the most wonderful experience. The Sunday of our stay (I was with a small group) was All Saints' Day, and the youngest brother gave a talk at Mass. Before this, I had found him a bit distant and maybe even a little aspergic. His talk was (not surprisingly) about the saints, and what he said was along the lines of this: many people probably find me a bit odd, and most people found the saints very strange in their lifetimes. They were eccentrics, oddballs, they did not conform to social expectations, and many of them suffered for their 'difference'. But I believe they saw more than we see, that they shone, and shine, a light of understanding and of deep belief. They could not stop themselves being different, and in our society today difference is even more villified at times. Instead we should honour and celebrate it, and should try to see that these people, who go out on a limb, often to their own detriment, can show us something that the rest of the world cannot. I am humbled by the saints and I can only keep trying to understand them.

I am paraphrasing here and I might not have it completely right, but I found it fascinating, and saw this brother in a whole new light after that. It doesn't have to be about religion - it ties in with what we were discussing a few days ago about autism.

I would recommend a retreat like this (which was not led, we were free to attend the services or not, and we went out into the lovely village, tried its fabulous cafes, walked on the beach, etc) as a way to ground yourself, whatever your beliefs or lack of them. The brothers carry on with their daily lives (including caring for one brother who is now terminally ill), they do not make any attempt to convert anyone, and they are great conversationalists who are hugely entertaining at times. They make all the meals themselves and you eat with them. They do a lot in the local community and are clearly held in high esteem there, with many volunteers coming from the village to help them with the chores like gardening. There are very few rules for guests apart from the keeping of silence from after the last service of the evening (around 9pm) to after the first one in the morning - I thought I would struggle to remember this but in fact it comes quite naturally when everyone else is doing it. The chapel of the Friary (which is an old Victorian house) looks right out over Alnmouth Bay, so there were the most spectacular views during the services. Also on Saturday evening they do a service whose name I've forgotten, but it starts in total darkness, then one brother brings in one candle, and gradually the room is illuminated.

I brought back a little Friar Teddy Bear for my son (aged 23 - years, not months...)

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #16276 on:** December 02, 2015, 08:34:10 AM »

Different is great, but the deeds that they supposedly committed. Hmm,, sort of way far from different. I attended a retreat some years ago. It was run by an Anglican church in the states. But it was different indeed.. Conversation was forbidden except for lunch and dinner. We sat in silence ( which was wonderful for me since I am a Philadelphia Quaker and that is how we worship). I was trying to help myself deal with my husbands death and the eternal everybody chattering at you. It helped enormously, but it was not for everyone.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16277 on:** December 02, 2015, 08:38:30 AM »

Good points Steph. No it certainly would not be for everyone - I wasn't at all sure it would be for me, but I did get a lot out of it. As you say, it quietens the noise.

I don't know enough about the saints to know who did what. He was giving examples of ones who had persisted with good works in the face of adversity - I'm sure there must be others who were more questionable in their actions.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #16278 on:** December 02, 2015, 08:42:12 AM »

To change the subject - I have just finished reading a Debbie Macomber book, 'Last One Home'. I don't really know why I read her novels - to be honest, she is a pretty poor writer and this one is full of repetition and cliche - but there's something about them that keeps me going to the end. Preferred the Blossom Street books to this one though - it felt like she'd churned it out as fast as she could, and if I read 'reconnect', 'reached out to' or 'their eyes locked' one more time, I'll have to get a red pen out...

Rosemary

Dana · « **Reply #16279 on:** December 02, 2015, 08:58:21 AM »

When we were in France last summer we visited a town called Tarrascon where there was a cathedral dedicated to St Martha, not the busy Martha but another Martha who tamed a dragon in the river which was terrorising the population. However when she had tamed it ( by kindness I believe), the townspeople came and killed it......

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